Discardable soap dish

ABSTRACT

A discardable soap dish for receiving and storing a wet soap bar of dimensions conventional for use by patrons of rooms hotels and motels and which prevents drippage therefrom onto environmental surfaces. The soap dish may have a flat four of dimensions not exceeding two inches by three inches. An inclined perimetric wall projects from the flat floor and supports an outwardly extending flange. Overall length and width of the soap dish respectively do not exceed five and one half inches and four and one half inches. The soap dish may be fabricated from a thin plastic or water resistant paper.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of the filing date under 35 USC 119(e) of the filing date of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/599,231, filed Feb. 15, 2012, the contents of which are incorporated herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to soap dishes, and more particularly to discardable dishes which are intended for use in commercial hospitality environments such as hotels and motels.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Travelers frequently maintain temporary living quarters away from home, such as hotels and motels, which offer amenities such as washing facilities. It is conventional to provide basic necessary supplies such as soap in bar form. Because the duration of any one guest's stay may be short, one day for example, hotels and motels provide soap bars much smaller than those provided commercially for home use.

When a bar of soap is used, it ordinarily becomes wet, and is apt to discharge wet soap onto its supporting environmental surface. In hotels and motels, this is typically a sink, bathroom counter or the like. Surfaces of sinks and counters must be washed to remove unsightly residues from soap which has dripped from wet bars. While this is easily performed it nonetheless requires all the more labor by those charged with housekeeping tasks.

There exists a need for an inexpensive way to protect bathroom environmental surfaces from fouling by soap residues, that encourages patrons of hotels and motels to take advantage of such an amenity.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above stated need by providing an inexpensive, discardable receptacle which holds soap after the first using, and which contains drippage from wet soap bars. The receptacle may take the form of a paper or plastic dish which is small and which conforms to the shape of soap bars. Such a dish intuitively invites hotel and motel patrons to use it, thereby reducing the burden of cleaning by housekeeping personnel who must prepare the premises for the subsequent patron.

It is an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive, discardable receptacle for bars of soap typically offered to patrons of commercial temporary premises such as those in hotels and motels.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof by apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable, and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.

These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, features, and attendant advantages of the present invention will become more fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a discardable soap dish according to at least one aspect of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, according to at least one aspect of the invention, there is shown a discardable soap dish 10 for holding a wet bar of soap when not in use. For the purposes of this application, the term “holding” encompasses receiving and storing in a readily viewable and accessible location. The discardable soap dish 10 may comprise an oblong receptacle 12 fabricated from a thin, inexpensive, substantially rigid liquid resistant substance such as a synthetic resin or a cellulosic material such as paper which is coated with or impregnated with a suitable water resistant substance such as wax, silicone, or any other suitable substance or combination thereof. The constituent material, whether resin or paper in nature, may be glossy, colorless, white, or colored, and may bear indicia and patterns if desired.

The oblong receptacle 12 may be formed to have a flat oblong floor 14 having a perimeter 16 and an inclined perimetric wall 18 projecting from the perimeter 16 of the flat floor 14. As employed in this application, “substantially rigid” implies that the rigidity is such that the discardable soap dish 10 holds its configuration in ordinary use, thereby avoiding spontaneous or unintended deformation or slumping which would defeat its purpose. The discardable soap dish 10 may be sufficiently pliable or flexible so as to deform in response to hand pressure.

A flange 20 may project from inclined wall 18. A bar of soap 22 is shown in FIG. 2 in broken lines. The bar of soap 22 may be conventional, and may be contained within an enclosing wrapper (not shown) or may be without such a wrapper. The bar of soap 22 is of the type typically dispensed by hotels and motels, and is limited in length to three inches and in width to two inches.

The flat floor 14 may be no greater than about two inches wide, as indicated by the arrow 24, and no greater than about three inches long, as indicated by the arrow 26. Overall width of the discardable soap dish 10, indicated by an arrow 28, may be no greater than about four and one half inches, and the overall length of the discardable soap dish 10, indicated by an arrow 30, may be no greater than about five and one half inches. The dimensions of the perimeter of the flat oblong floor are slightly greater than corresponding dimensions of the bar of soap 22.

The perimeter 16 of the flat oblong floor 14 substantially reflects configuration of the perimeter of the bar of soap 22. That is, the bar of soap is oblong, and although it may have straight sides and curved corners as depicted, it may also be ovoid when viewed in plan, but still oblong. The perimeter 16 of the oblong flat floor 14 is sufficiently visibly compatible with the perimetric configuration of the bar of soap 22 as to have the effect of prompting a patron of a hotel or motel to utilize the discardable soap dish 10 for storing the bar of soap 22 after use. That is, the dimensions and configuration of the the receptacle defined by the flat oblong floor 14 and the inclined wall 18 cooperate with the perimetric configuration of the bar of soap 22 sufficiently closely as to intuitively invite a patron to utilize the discardable soap dish 10 for storage of the bar of soap 22 after use. The hotel or motel may elect to place the bar of soap 22 in the discardable soap dish 10 when first preparing the premises for the next patron as a further psychological prompt to encourage appropriate use of the discardable soap dish 10.

The invention may be thought of as the discardable soap dish 10, for receiving and storing a wet soap bar of dimensions conventional for use by patrons of rooms hotels and motels and which prevents drippage therefrom onto environmental surfaces, or alternatively, as a combination of the discardable soap dish 10 and a bar of soap such as the bar of soap 22.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present invention is not to be limited to the disclosed arrangements, but is intended to cover various arrangements which are included within the spirit and scope of the broadest possible interpretation of the appended claims so as to encompass all modifications and equivalent arrangements which are possible. 

I claim:
 1. A bar of soap and a discardable soap dish for holding the bar of soap, comprising: a bar of soap having a length not greater than three inches and a perimeter when viewed in plan; and an oblong receptacle fabricated from a thin, inexpensive, substantially rigid liquid resistant substance, formed to have a flat oblong floor having a perimeter and an inclined perimetric wall projecting from the perimeter of the flat floor, and a flange which projects from the inclined walls, wherein the flat floor is no greater than about two inches wide and three inches long, wherein the perimeter of the flat oblong floor substantially reflects configuration of the perimeter of the bar of soap, and wherein the dimensions of the perimeter of the flat oblong floor are slightly greater than corresponding dimensions of the bar of soap.
 2. The bar of soap and discardable soap dish of claim 1, wherein the overall width of the soap dish is no greater than about four and one half inches and the overall length of the soap dish is no greater than about five and one half inches.
 3. The bar of soap and discardable soap dish of claim 1, wherein the flat floor is no greater than about two inches wide and three inches long.
 4. The bar of soap and discardable soap dish of claim 1, wherein the substantially rigid liquid resistant substance is a synthetic resin.
 5. The bar of soap and discardable soap dish of claim 1, wherein the substantially rigid liquid resistant substance is a cellulosic material comprising a water resistant substance.
 6. A discardable soap dish for receiving and storing a wet soap bar of dimensions conventional for use by patrons of rooms hotels and motels and which prevents drippage therefrom onto environmental surfaces, comprising an oblong receptacle fabricated from a thin, inexpensive, substantially rigid liquid resistant substance, formed to have a flat oblong floor having a perimeter and an inclined perimetric wall projecting from the perimeter of the flat floor, and a flange which projects from the inclined walls, wherein the flat floor is no greater than about two inches wide and three inches long.
 7. The discardable soap dish of claim 6, wherein the overall width of the soap dish is no greater than about four and one half inches and the overall length of the soap dish is no greater than about five and one half inches.
 8. The discardable soap dish of claim 6, wherein the substantially rigid liquid resistant substance is a synthetic resin.
 9. The discardable soap dish of claim 6, wherein the substantially rigid liquid resistant substance is a cellulosic material comprising a water resistant substance. 